Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + Intel Arc B570

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and Intel Arc B570 lands at rank 2320 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the bottom 21% of all configurations. The pairing shows a clear GPU-bound pattern at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the system demonstrates respectable headroom, though the overall ranking reflects the Arc B570's mid-range positioning rather than any CPU limitation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2320 out of 2924 tested configurations places this system firmly in the lower quartile of the benchmark database for Steamworld Build. This ranking is driven primarily by the GPU's performance ceiling, as the Arc B570 sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 235 achieves the 89th percentile among all CPUs. The imbalance is stark: the processor is substantially more capable than the graphics card, which means the system's overall standing in this city builder is constrained by the Arc B570's throughput.

Looking at the CPU's synthetic benchmarks, the Core Ultra 5 235 posts an average benchmark score of 46062, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% slower), Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, 0.1% faster), AMD EPYC 4364P (45970, 0.2% slower), and AMD EPYC 7303 (45960, 0.2% slower). These margins are negligible, placing the Ultra 5 235 in a dead heat with high-end laptop and server parts. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 14769 multi-core and 2085 single-core, confirming strong compute capability that a city builder can leverage for simulation logic.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 20556, with nearest rivals being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.1% slower), Intel Arc A750 (20582, 0.1% faster), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 0.4% slower), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, 0.5% faster). The Arc B570 effectively trades blows with a mobile RTX 3070 and its predecessor, the Arc A750, which contextualizes why the combo ranking is modest — this is a mid-range graphics solution paired with a high-end desktop processor. In Steamworld Build specifically, the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (63 avg) and 4K Ultra (21 avg) illustrate that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads have ample headroom for the game's city management workloads.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using a 5 nm TSMC process with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. Its memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU clocks are fixed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These specifications position the card as a solid 1080p performer with enough VRAM for texture-heavy scenes, but the 160-bit bus and 380 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions.

In Steamworld Build, the VRAM capacity is not the primary constraint — the game's measured FPS scales more directly with the GPU's compute throughput. The Arc B570 offers 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute of 11.52 TFLOPS (with FP16 at 23.04 TFLOPS via 2:1 ratio) determines how quickly the game can render its isometric city views and particle effects. At 1080p Low, the system hits 162 FPS average, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 21 FPS — a reduction that tracks with the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput rather than any memory capacity issue.

The 18 ray tracing cores are present on the Arc B570, though Steamworld Build's visual style does not heavily utilize ray-traced effects, so their impact on measured results is minimal. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 ensure compatibility with the game's rendering pipeline. The 150 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin power connector suggest the card operates within a modest power envelope, which is consistent with its mid-range positioning. The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for this workload, as evidenced by the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K being consistent with GPU-bound behavior.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases, confirming that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 162 at 1080p to 103 at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and further to 55 at 4K (a 66% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is being pushed progressively harder at higher pixel counts, with the 380 GB/s memory bandwidth and 200 GPixel/s pixel rate becoming increasingly taxed.

At Medium settings, the same trend emerges: 124 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 36% from 1080p to 1440p and 66% from 1080p to 4K — almost identical to the Low setting scaling. This consistency suggests that the GPU's compute units are the bottleneck, not memory bandwidth, since the relative performance degradation is uniform across settings. The High preset shows a slightly different curve: 93 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 31 FPS at 4K (67% drop). The Ultra preset is the most demanding: 63 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 21 FPS at 4K (67% drop).

The uniform scaling across all four presets — each showing roughly a 36-37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 66-67% from 1080p to 4K — indicates that the rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count and that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. If the CPU were constraining performance, we would expect to see diminishing FPS differences at higher resolutions (as the GPU becomes the bottleneck), but instead the pattern is consistent, pointing to a GPU that is fully saturated at every resolution. The Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and strong single-thread performance (2085 in Cinebench R23 single-core), is never the constraint in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 162 FPS, which is well above any display refresh rate concern. Medium settings yield 124 FPS average with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143 FPS, providing smooth gameplay. High settings drop to 93 FPS average, still comfortable for most monitors. Ultra settings produce 63 FPS average, which is borderline for 60 Hz displays but acceptable for a city builder where frame pacing is less critical than in fast-paced genres.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance profile shifts downward. Low settings maintain 103 FPS average, ensuring fluid interaction even during complex city expansions. Medium settings deliver 79 FPS average with a range of 67 to 91 FPS, which remains playable. High settings drop to 59 FPS average, right at the edge of 60 Hz smoothness — users with 144 Hz monitors will notice the dip, but the game remains responsive. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 40 FPS average, which is noticeably stutter-prone for a city builder where camera panning and zooming are frequent.

At 3840x2160, the Arc B570 struggles to maintain playable frame rates except at the lowest preset. Low settings yield 55 FPS average, which is playable but with visible compromises in visual fidelity. Medium settings drop to 42 FPS average (35 min, 48 max), which is borderline for a game that benefits from smooth camera movement. High settings produce 31 FPS average, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 21 FPS average, making this configuration impractical for 4K Ultra gameplay. The measured data shows no minimum or maximum FPS values for High, Low, and Ultra at any resolution, indicating that only Medium settings captured frame variability — the other presets likely had too few frames or inconsistent frame times to record meaningful extremes.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience balances visual quality against the Arc B570's compute limits. At 1080p, the Medium preset (124 FPS average, 106 minimum) is the recommended choice — it provides a 33% performance uplift over High (93 FPS) while maintaining a 31% improvement over Ultra (63 FPS). The minimum FPS of 106 at Medium ensures no noticeable hitches during city building operations, whereas Ultra's 63 FPS average leaves less headroom for simulation spikes.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (79 FPS average, 67 minimum) is again the sweet spot. High settings at 59 FPS average are playable but leave no margin for demanding scenes, while Ultra at 40 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that ensures smooth camera control. The Low preset (103 FPS) offers a high-refresh-rate option, but the visual degradation in textures and shadows may not be worth the performance gain for a game where aesthetics matter. Medium delivers the best compromise: 79 FPS average with a 67 FPS floor, ensuring consistent frame delivery.

At 4K, the options are limited. Low settings (55 FPS average) are the only preset that approaches playability, but even this falls short of 60 FPS. Medium (42 FPS) and High (31 FPS) are not recommended for serious play, and Ultra (21 FPS) is unusable. For 4K users, the data suggests either accepting Low settings or dropping to 1440p for a better experience. The scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 200 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K rendering at higher presets in Steamworld Build.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Steamworld Build at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 1080p High is 93, which is comfortably above 60 FPS. The system provides smooth gameplay at this resolution and preset, though the Medium preset offers a more substantial safety margin at 124 FPS average.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 79 FPS average with a 67 FPS minimum, making it the recommended choice. High settings at 59 FPS are playable but leave less headroom, while Ultra at 40 FPS falls below the smoothness threshold.

Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in Steamworld Build?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 55 FPS average. Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 31 FPS, and Ultra to 21 FPS — none of these are recommended for a satisfactory 4K experience.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.1% lower) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, 0.1% higher). It is 0.4% faster than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Core Ultra 5 235 ranks at the 89th percentile among CPUs, while the Arc B570 ranks at the 65th percentile among GPUs. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows uniform degradation across all settings, confirming the GPU as the limiting component.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 63, which is right at the 60 FPS threshold. This is playable but leaves minimal headroom for demanding city-building scenes, so users with 144 Hz monitors may prefer Medium at 124 FPS for smoother interaction.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235, based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture (Core Ultra Series 2), provides 14 cores and 14 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This processor, manufactured on a 3 nm TSMC process with 17,800 million transistors, delivers strong single-threaded performance (2085 in Cinebench R23 single-core) that is critical for city builder simulation logic, where unit AI, pathfinding, and resource calculations often run on a single thread. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 per core provide ample on-die storage for game data.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is to handle the simulation overhead — population tracking, production chains, and building placement logic. The multi-core score of 14769 in Cinebench R23 indicates that the 14 cores can handle parallel workloads effectively, which helps when the game scales up city complexity. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is never the limiting factor; even at 1080p Low with 162 FPS average, the processor has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU without creating a bottleneck.

The 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs places the Ultra 5 235 in the upper tier of processors, with an average benchmark score of 46062. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Intel Core i9-13900HX, AMD EPYC 4364P, and AMD EPYC 7303 — all score within 0.2% of the Ultra 5 235, indicating that this desktop processor matches or exceeds high-end laptop and server parts in synthetic benchmarks. The PassMark multi-thread score of 37816 and single-thread score of 4516 further confirm balanced performance.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 (with a 102.4 GB/s bus) is sufficient for the game's data streaming needs. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes (CPU only) provides ample bandwidth for the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x8 connection. The 65 W TDP and 3 nm process node suggest efficient power delivery, though the socket is Intel Socket 1851, which requires a compatible motherboard. The CPU's launch MSRP is $257, and its active production status means it remains a current-generation option. For Steamworld Build specifically, the CPU's capabilities far exceed the demands, making this combo's ranking entirely dependent on the Arc B570's performance.